X-23
"You've already lost." — X-23 when first in line up "Get outta here before I REALLY get mad!" -X-23's win quote against all villains except Sentinel X-23, a.k.a. Laura Kinney, is a character from the X-Men Series. Backstory Top-secret program is tasked to replicate the original Weapon X experiment that produced the feral mutant Wolverine. The project is taken in a new direction: Doctor Martin Sutter recruits renowned mutant geneticist Doctor Sarah Kinney to develop a clone of Wolverine. Since the only genetic sample from Weapon X is damaged, Kinney is unable to salvage the Y chromosome. Kinney proposes the creation of a female genetic twin; her request is denied. Sutter's protégé Doctor Zander Rice, whom he has raised after Rice's father was killed by the original Weapon X, is opposed to the idea. After 22 failed attempts at reconstituting the DNA using a duplicate X chromosome, the 23rd sample yields a viable sample to combine with an embryo. Although Kinney is allowed to proceed, Rice exacts revenge for her insubordination by forcing her to act as the surrogate mother of the specimen. For nine months, Kinney's every move is monitored; finally, she gives birth to "X-23". After seven years, Rice subjects X-23 to radiation poisoning in order to activate her mutant gene. He extracts her claws, coats them with adamantium, and reinserts them back into her hands and feet - a procedure performed without affording the child any anesthetic. Rice creates a "trigger scent" that drives X-23 into a murderous rage when she detects it. Kinney's niece Megan is abducted by a serial killer; she smuggles X-23 out of the facility to rescue the girl. X-23 tracks the abductor to his apartment, kills him, and frees Megan. Kinney is fired when she returns and is escorted off the base. Rice assigns X-23 to eliminate Sutter and his family; he orders her to keep it secret. However, the girl reveals to Sarah that Rice is responsible for the murders. Before Kinney leaves, Rice reveals a chamber containing the incubation pods for X-24 through X-50. Kinney drafts a letter to her daughter, assigning her a final mission: destroy the pods and kill Rice. X-23 succeeds and meets her mother; the two prepare to flee. However, prior to his death, Rice exposed Kinney to the trigger scent; X-23 goes into a murderous frenzy and kills her mother. As she lies dying, Kinney tells X-23 that her name is Laura and that she loves her, and hands her the letter and pictures of Charles Xavier, Wolverine, and the Xavier Institute. Target X After being arrested by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, X-23 awakens bound and gagged in the company of Captain America and Matt Murdock, who proceed to interrogate her about her past. X-23 describes how she traveled to San Francisco and tracked down Megan and Debbie (her mother's sister). Introducing herself as Sarah's daughter, she moves in with them. Although Megan experiences vivid nightmares of her abduction, her family believes these to be utter fantasies. X-23 informs Megan that the man in her nightmares was indeed real and that she killed him. Debbie's boyfriend turns out to be an agent for the Facility who has been instructed to manipulate X-23 into killing Megan and Debbie using the trigger scent. However, the agent fumbles the assignment and is killed by X-23. Facility agents storm the house, led by the woman who served as X-23's handler, Kimura (Kimura abused X-23 in the facility and punished her even if the missions went according to plan). X-23 manages to get Megan and Debbie to safety by handcuffing Kimura to a radiator and then triggering an explosion in the house, buying some time. After X-23 and Megan part, X-23 decides to confront the man who made her creation possible - Wolverine. X-23 tracks Wolverine to Xavier's mansion and engages him in a battle, defeating him via tactics and maneuverability. However, she does not kill him. Instead, she tells him why she came. Wolverine reveals that he is aware of X-23's ordeal, having received a detailed letter from her mother. The talk is interrupted when Captain America comes to arrest Laura. Despite the mayhem in her past, Matt Murdock accepts X-23's innocence. Captain America wants X-23 to atone for the murders she has committed. However, he ultimately frees X-23 in order to avoid S.H.I.E.L.D.'s exploitation of her as their own weapon. New X-Men After the events of House of M and Decimation, X-23 was one of the few mutants to retain her powers. X-23, having previously left the institute off-panel, returns to the X-Mansion at Wolverine's insistence. Laura is assigned a room with fellow mutant student Sooraya Qadir. She begins to develop an attraction towards Julian Keller, aka Hellion, protecting him while participating in holographic combat simulations created for members of the student body by David Alleyne, formerly a mutant codenamed Prodigy. After Jay Guthrie appears bloodied and beaten on the doorstep of the institute, Emma Frost has the powered students compete in a free-for-all brawl, with those deemed to be the best performers assigned to a new team of trainee X-Men. Despite Frost's attempts to omit her, X-23 is among those students who excel during the exercise, and also receives unexpected aid from Hellion, whom Frost has instructed to take out X-23 from the battle first. She is placed on the team with Mercury, Dust, Hellion, Elixir, Rockslide, and team leader Surge by Cyclops, who defeats Frost's attempts to keep her off the team by pulling rank. As the depowered students and staff are leaving the school, their bus is bombed by anti-mutant religious zealot Reverend William Stryker. X-23 overhears Dust talking to Icarus, who had fled the Mansion. Dust intends to meet Jay, but Laura warns her that it's a trap, and takes Dust's place. Donning Dust's burqa, X-23 is shot upon arriving at Stryker's compound. Laura returns to the Mansion and singlehandedly kills three Purifiers who have incapacitated Surge, Hellion, and Emma Frost. When Surge receives a distress call from Forge, X-23 accompanies the New X-Men. Although the team disables the Nimrod unit, X-23 is grievously wounded and is unable to heal herself. In order to save X-23, Hellion convinces Emma Frost to unlock his telekinetic potential, increasing his powers (and thus, his speed) to a level thought impossible by a O.N.E. sentinel guard. This allows them to fly back to the mansion in time for Laura to be healed by Elixir. X-Force During the Messiah Complex story, X-23 becomes part of X-Force, a black ops team formed by Cyclops and led by Wolverine. Cyclops intends to keep the team a secret from other X-Men, and use them to permanently deal with threats to mutant-kind. X-23's inclusion angers Wolverine since it means she will become a killer once more, directly conflicting with his reasons for bringing her to the X-Men. Powers *As a clone of Wolverine, has his powers such as a regenerative healing factor and animal senses. *Adamantium claws, just like Wolverine, except she has two on each hand and one on each foot. *Since she escaped before her full adamantium bonding process began, only her claws are coated with metal and as a result, at times, her regenerative healing factor is faster than Wolverine's (as adamantium generates toxins in his body that slow it down). Gameplay Attacks *'Talon Dive '- Midair Command Normal. A diving claw attack that goes straight downward. *'Talon Attack' - She charges in midair either in a downwards diagonal kick or horizontal. Can be delayed and can be used to finish air combos. *'Decapitating Slice - '''She hops onto her opponent's back and slashes them once before hoping off to push them upward with her foot talons. Unblockable throw. Can be delayed to increase hopping distance. *'Mirage Feint -''' X-23 leaps forward leaving afterimages. A/L version simply moves her forward. B/M version goes further and can pass through opponent. C/H version makes her leap upward. All versions are delayable and can be attacked with an attack, making it her main mixup/crossup tool. Support Attacks *'Crescent Scythe' - Somersault kicks with her claws on foot. Ok during jump. *'Neck Slicer' - Performs a rush upward-aimed dash slash. Can be delayed. *'Ankle Slicer' - X-23 performs a dashing slash attack close to the ground. Can be delayed for OTG. Hyper Combos *'Rage Trigger (Level 1) - '''Performs two forward somersaults with all claws exposed and finishes with a reverse upward backflip. *'Weapon X Prime (Level 1) - Rushes forward. Upon connecting she performs several slashing moves, leaps behind the opponent, and finishes with one final slash. Resembles Wolverine's Weapon X Hyper Combo from previous Vs. games. This attack has 60 frames of invulnerability, making it the most invincible level 1 hyper combo in the entire game. *'''Silent Kill (Level 3) - X-23 becomes invisible for a short time, flickering slightly when struck by enemy attacks. While invisible she can perform an unblockable attack on her opponent, appearing above them and stabbing them in the back of the head by pressing the Special button when in close range. Theme Song 300px Trailer thumb|300px|left Trivia *X-23 was the first female Marvel character announced for Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds. *The Locket she wears has pictures of her "mother" (Sarah Kinney, the scientist that gave birth to her) and of her "cousin" (Sarah's niece). *She was confirmed during the Tokyo Game Show 2010, along with Albert Wesker, Spider-Man and Tron Bonne. *Although she is called a clone character, her moves act very different from Wolverine's, so she is only a clone character storywise. *In Marvel vs. Capcom 3, X-23 is voiced by Tara Strong, who voiced the character in Wolverine and the X-Men. *In one special conversation, she refers to herself as "the second best at what she does", a reference to Wolverine being "the best at what he does (and what he does isn't very nice)". *X-23's ending involves her having Galactus's unconscious body thrown into the dirt as she starts bragging to Wolverine, who asks her to get Galactus off of his lawn. *The game and strategy guide lists X-23's comic debut (NYX #3, Feb 2004). However, the character originally debuted in the animated series X-Men Evolution during Season 3 in 2002. She appeares in episodes 41: X23, 46: Target X, and 52: Ascension Part 2. Only the official US website cites this source. *X-23 is one of the few characters originally created for an animated series that was later incorperated into comic book canon. Other examples include Firestar, Harly Quinn and Batman Beyond. *X-23 was shown alongside Tron Bonne, because they both appeared as Heroes and Villains. In X-23's case, she was meant to be a evil clone of Wolverine, and was for a while, but now is his student and is on the good Side. Artwork xmenth.jpg|X-23's original appearance in X-Men Evolution X23_(Earth-11052)_001.jpg|X-23 at the end of X-Men Evolution X-23_MvsC3-FTW.PNG|Original Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Artwork x-23 costumes.jpg|X-23's costumes marvel-vs-capcom-3-X-23-costume-1.jpg|X-23 costume 1 marvel-vs-capcom-3-X-23-costume-2.jpg|X-23 costume 2 marvel-vs-capcom-3-X-23-costume-4.jpg|X-23 costume 4 marvel-vs-capcom-3-X-23-costume-3.jpg|X-23 costume 3 0052.jpg|X-Men: Evolution suit Also See X-23's moves in Marvel vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds External Links * X-23 at Wiki * X-23 at Marvel Wiki * X-23 at Marvel Universe Wiki Category:Characters Category:Marvel Characters Category:X-Men Characters Category:MvC3 Characters Category:Good Alignment X Category:Neutral Alignment Category:UMvC3 Characters